Managing multiple sites or projects, particularly in remote areas, and

Dealing with knowledge gaps over a project life cycle due to high staff turnover.

When a mine site, environemental group or junior explorer sets out to get their data sorted, there’s one more issue they need to consider.

What type of customer service will they get from their data capture and data management provider?

The risks of less optimal service delivery

Buying a product vs a service

When appointing a data management provider, many business leaders don’t realise that they’re in fact only buying or renting the use of the product. Important and valuable support services may not be included and they’re unaware at the time how critical the support services are. This means they’re left with a product with potentially costly training and support for the set up and ongoing management of the system.

Lock in contracts

When contracts are locked in without the services mapped out, it can be very difficult to get out of the contract to move to a provider which delivers the services you need.

Visibility of fee structures

If customer service isn’t built into your agreement upfront and you find that you need more support than was projected, it’s likely you’ll be paying extra for it. Transparency is critical and no one wants bill shock.

Slow response times

If data is one of the most valuable assets of a business, then support services need to be fast. If your provider has slow response times to questions or issues, there’s a negative impact to your business operations.

Rigid support structures

You may need a lot of support or you may just need a little bit of support. Scalability and flexibility is key. If the services you receive are rigid and not allowing for your unique circumstances, it may mean you’re achieving a less optimal outcome for your business operations by being forced into someone else’s box.

The benefits of excellent customer service

Deeper understanding of your needs

Excellent customer service means having access to approachable, knowledgeable and patient providers who deeply understand the issues your organisation faces and has the experience to provide meaningful solutions.

Quick response times

Accurate and immediate data is critical – that’s why the hallmark of excellent customer service is in delivering fast response times with solutions that can quickly eradicate any problems. When something goes wrong, you need someone you can call who can fix it quickly.

Flexible

Every organisation is different and has a unique set of needs, infrastructure, people and experience. That’s why customer service that is flexible and can adapt to changing needs is paramount.

Reliable

Reliability is key to excellent customer service. Data accuracy depends on it, which means your bottom line depends on it.

The quality of customer service can make all the difference

Here at Expedio, delivering accurate, reliable and immediate data for you using our highly innovative Toolbox is our priority. Doing so with superior customer service is what sets us apart from the rest.

In the last two quarters, we’ve seen our team of consultants and support staff rapidly grow to meet demand for always accurate data.

It’s no wonder – having access to immediate and accurate data is critical.

With increasing global demand for advanced data capture and data management, Expedio has been experiencing a significant increase in resource industry participants seeking to get their data sorted.

Our premium service delivers always accurate data

Our clients have confidence in their data, knowing they’re supported by a longstanding team of highly experienced geo-scientists and IT personnel with ‘hands-on’ experience and in-depth understanding of the mining industry.

Our services are set apart from the rest because we’re agile and nimble, resulting in quicker implementations and advanced yet user friendly and cost effective solutions.

Built on the innovative data management platform OCRIS, Expedio delivers streamlined solutions via a single interface integrated with centralised and standardised business rules ensuring a ‘single source of truth’ across divisions.

Get immediate & accurate data with Expedio

Contact us to discover how your business can benefit from immediate and accurate data delivered with exceptional customer service.

Expedio is proud to announce it has been appointed as data management provider for new junior explorer Cygnus Gold Limited.

Cygnus Gold Limited has contracted Perth-based Expedio to implement industry best practise data collection and management solutions ahead of their upcoming drilling program. Expedio will manage all geological data requirements for Cygnus including historic open source data from within their project areas.

Cygnus Gold Limited will benefit from outsourcing their IT infrastructure and staffing overheads while having the assurance their data is managed with the highest technical standards and combined centuries of experience from the expert team at Expedio. This support model ensures efficiency and immediate access to data, as well as the adherence to stringent business rules and statutory compliance.

Expedio’s single interface data management solution integrated with centralised and standardised outputs and advanced reports ensure Cygnus Gold Limited is operating from a ‘single source of truth’ across divisions. Expedio’s innovative data logging solution can be used even when offline, which means that Cygnus Gold Limited will be collecting fast, accurate and dependable data no matter what.

“Having access to immediate and accurate geological data delivered by excellent customer service is crucial for mining and exploration companies,” said Lara Groves, Expedio Managing Director. “With an 18-year history of providing cost effective and successful solutions, we’re confident Expedio will be delivering fantastic operational and compliance outcomes for Cygnus Gold Limited now and into the future.”

“Cygnus Gold recognises that having a high quality database and data management systems is critical to the success of the company,” said James Merrillees, Cygnus CEO. “Cygnus is pleased to team up with Expedio at this early stage and we look forward to working together as we build shareholder value through discovery success.”

The jobs outlook for Australia’s geoscientists has shown the first small signs of improvement in two years with the number of professional geoscientists in Australia seeking work or unable to secure satisfactory self-employment, falling fell in the June quarter compared with the preceding period.

The survey received 1095 responses this quarter from an estimated 6,000 geoscientists in Australia, working in all sectors of exploration and mining, government, education, research, environment and a range of other fields of practice.

On a state by state basis, decreases in both unemployment and under-employment were evident in all states except South Australia where unemployment remained static but under-employment amongst self-employed geoscientists increased.

Geoscientist unemployment and under-employment in Australia June 2009 – June 2016

Case Study

PROBLEM

Slow turnaround for grade control data users from capture to reconciliation stages

No consistency and no data flow control mechanisms

Non-compliance: A culture of database schema changes to force non-valid data into the database

Non-compliance: Allowing non-valid data into the database compromised the veracity of the dataset and compounded several major issues within the database

Language and cultural barrier to locate the source of their data issues

Several generations of data consultancies had tried and failed to solve large scale issues in the importing, validating, exporting and reporting of the data.

SOLUTION

Database solution – A self-managed database solution with support from Expedio

OCRIS Mobile: Expedio designed and implemented a robust data capture solution customised with the client’s business rules, validation and formulas. Changes are delivered quickly and easily applied

OCRIS Logix: A stringent data management process from field logging to data management with a full, demonstrable audit trail.

OCRIS Model: Expedio introduced a standardised and secure data management system using Expedio’s own schema design and software configuration optimised for Gbis / Geobank Increased database security controls allowed the company to regain and maintain the veracity of their database.

Global experience: Years of experience working around the world meant Expedio was able to address cultural and language barriers by building trust with the onsite staff and deliver on our proposed solutions

Custom validation: Customised rules and views ensured non-valid data would be unable to corrupt the new schema. With these rules in place Expedio was able to validate and audit their entire dataset and correct many historic data issues

GBIS/Geobank Optimisation: A decade of experience in optimising GBIS/Geobank systems allowed Expedio to get the most out of the client’s current data management software.

OUTCOME

Data Capture – Field logging process delivering a clean, controlled and rapid flow of data with errors trapped and corrected at the point of capture by the user

Export data on demand – Users can generate ready to use data on demand in standard formats for each production department in addition to automated mailouts of QC data results

Dataset control – Validation rules, views and security permissions

Data Management– By outsourcing the development and support to Expedio, onsite staff can now focus on the day to day data management. The data managers can now provide clean, valid and effective data to the Geologist, Engineers, Metallurgists and Surveyors onsite.

MESSAGE

Code Compliance

Expedio’s Top Tip for May keeping Code Compliance:

Having inconsistent logging codes within a data set will cause major issues when modelling the data. “how do I use this – I can’t model my geology, how do I put this on a section?” This can be caused by a field geologists creating there own codes in the field “Im not sure what this is, ill just use ???”

The old data management proverb of “S*** in S*** out” comes to mind.

Enforcing company codes is important, consistency in logging is the key. Having a standard set of codes allows data collected to be consistent from geologist to geologist, Field assistant to Field assistant.

Having a field logging tool that has built in checks for valid numeric ranges and valid logging codes like OCRIS Mobile is essential.

Having a process for adding new codes within your company will kept consistency when new codes are required.

The inquisitive youngster, who has a deep fascination with ancient Maya, analysed 22 Mayan constellations and realised that the Mayans aligned their 117 cities with the positions of the stars.

It was the first time a researcher had made a direct correlation between the stars and the locations of the Mayan cities, the Journal de Montreal reported.

But William pressed on with his research, eventually coming to realise that there was one star in another constellation that didn’t appear to have a corresponding city.

If his theory and calculations were correct, that would place the missing city in a remote coastal location on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Using satellite images from the Canadian Space Agency and Google Earth maps, William zeroed in on the precise location — and a pyramid and about thirty ancient buildings were spotted, partially hidden, in the dense forest.

“There are linear features that would suggest there is something underneath that big canopy,” Canadian Space Agency liaison officer Daniel de Lisle told The Independent.
“There are enough items to suggest it could be a man-made structure.” William has named the lost city K’aak Chi, or Mouth of Fire. It is believed to be one of the five largest Mayan cities on record.
The discovery has won William praise from space agencies in Canada and Japan as well as NASA. He’s also become a local hero in Quebec.Read More

For those of you that missed AMEC’s 04 May media release here it is again – It sounds like good news and a $100 million won’t go astray, or will it? Please feel free to share and comment.

The allocation of $100 million to Geoscience Australia to produce pre-competitive data for the Exploring for the Future program is excellent news and is applauded.

Exploration geoscience must be central to the nation`s innovation agenda. Australia has a competitive advantage in resource development and must seize the opportunity for science and innovation, together with vital new capital investment in exploration, to improve discovery rates in Australia.

To compliment the extra geoscience funding AMEC would like to see a long term rollover and additional annual commitment to the Exploration Development Incentive (EDI) in the Forward Estimates in order to stimulate investment in eligible Australian junior mineral exploration companies who would be able to provide shareholders with a tax offset equivalent to the company tax rate.

The production of pre-competitive data by Geoscience Australia, the State and Territory Geological Surveys and the EDI are inextricably linked if we are to improve exploration outcomes and provide new mines for future generations.

These strategies are also vitally important recognising that a number of large producing mines are coming to an end and not being replaced at a fast enough rate.

New mines will create thousands of jobs and generate significant economic and social dividends for the nation and local communities. The Government should also consider its role in unlocking resource projects that are ‘stranded’ due to the lack of cost effective infrastructure (power, port and rail), approvals delays or access to finance. These need to be facilitated or fast tracked where possible.

The enterprise tax plan to reduce the corporate tax to 25% for all Australian resident companies by 2026/27 is a significant step in the right direction, but needs to be implemented sooner to be a clear incentive for job creation and an economic boost throughout the nation.

The sensible plans to cut waste, reduce unnecessary spending and red tape in Government are essential, as there are limited opportunities to increase revenue in the current economic environment. These initiatives have to be a feature of the Government`s Budget and Forward Estimates. There cannot be a ‘business as usual approach’, as times have changed considerably.

All Australian mining and exploration companies have had to implement savings and efficiency measures on a daily basis to control cash flow and keep their operations going. The Government has to do the same.

The driving force behind any data management system is that it delivers Always Accurate Data. Expedio has decades of experience in the resources industry and we strive to be a global leader in data management solutions.

Is the worst over?

Resource stocks have been rallying in recent weeks, with miners across all sectors – even the bottom end – enjoying gains.

Australia’s largest resource stock, BHP Billiton, hit a 2016 high today by rising more than $A20 – quite impressive when you consider the stock was threatening to fall below $14 in January.

While gold players have come off the boil, with many reaching 2016 (or in some cases, all-time) highs last month, almost all are much higher now than their 2015 closing prices.

Morgans analyst Adrian Prendergast noted this was the second re-rating event in resources to occur so far this year.

“The injection of positive sentiment has been enough to help commodity prices stabilise, which in turn we expect will be enough to pull us out of the downgrade cycle that has been undermining confidence in resources,” he said.

Prendergast noted that the improvement in some commodities had caught many by surprise.

Many thought the gold price was destined to dip below $US1000 an ounce this year, and there was almost no one who would have tipped an iron ore price of $60/t.

“We expect sentiment had become weak to such an extent that we are now likely to see a widespread ‘relief rally’ unfold across the sector, which could continue in fits and spurts throughout the remainder of 2016 carrying commodities to more sustainable (higher) levels.”

ANZ Research noted last week that while commodities had been one of the best-performing asset classes this year, the issue of oversupply remained, particularly in iron ore and coal.

“Whether commodity markets continue to move higher from here or suffer a reversal will be dependent on supply,” ANZ said.

“The recent rally raises the risk of previously curtailed supply being reactivated. In markets such as industrial metals, margins are improving quickly enough to see that occur in the short term.

“Whatever the case, the sustainability of this current rally will be reliant on how each supply side of the market reacts over the coming months.”

Morgans believes that now is the time for investors to “dip your toe back into the sector”.

It seems that many are, with positive early signs emerging across the sector.

MNN has noticed a substantial pick-up in the quantum and value of capital raisings, and in a further positive sign, many have been oversubscribed.

Most notably was Pilbara Minerals’ $A100 million raising, while Western Areas raised $70 million.

Gold developer Gascoyne Resources secured $15 million, while West African Resources was “swamped” with investor interest after a run of high-grade results, last week raising $12 million.

To earlier stage projects, Salt Lake Potash boosted its $5.2 million raising to $8.4 million on high investor interest, while Hastings Technology Metals scored $9.6 million off the back of a prefeasibility study.

At the much smaller end, raisings by Core Exploration, St George Mining, Helix Resources, Tyranna Resources, WPG Resources, and Liontown Resources were oversubscribed.

All of these signs have led Lion Selection’s Hedley Widdup to declare the time as 5 o’clock on the firm’s investment clock.

“The clock has moved from 4.30 in late 2015 to 5 o’clock now in reflection of improved liquidity for miners,” he told MNN.

“This time is just before the boom starts to take place, so we are saying the stage is set.”

Widdup said the cycle had bottomed.

“Investors broadly have changed their view toward miners, and the realisations that miners are 1) cheap and 2) probably have very little downside on price, have now set in,” he said.

“The conclusion is not centred on the longevity of the recent rally – the rally is only an important piece of evidence.

“Capitulation is over, and strong cash generation and growth appetite in gold is likely to lead to more balance sheet-funded M&A.”

Original article by Kristie Batten of MiningNews.net view the original article here

Exports Surge on the Back of Mining Technology

Mining has long been thought of as a business of shovels and sweat, but in reality it is now driven by advanced mining technology and sophisticated software. Resources-linked technology is also one of the great unsung export success stories. At present, about 60 per cent of the mining software used around the world originates in Australia.

According to an Austrade report, “Mining Software and Related Technologies”, exploration and mining software (EMS) generates more than $600 million a year from mining-related revenues, more than $240 million of exports, and directly employs more than 2500 people.

The size and type of EMS firms varies, with 100 companies in the sector, ranging in size from less than $1 million to more than $100 million in annual sales. The sector is concentrated in Western Australia (45 per cent of businesses) and Queensland (30 per cent).

Australia is seen as a world leader in this field,” says Simon Ratcliffe, product development director of Maptek, an Australian-based international company. “Australians have a can-do attitude and the capacity to think across traditional borders rather than in niches, and that is very important for global miners.”

Original article by Derek Parker of the Financial Review view the full article here